Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

This series of questions tells us yet again that the coalition is opposed to this funding. I have had occasion to ask this of the member for Sturt and of Senator Brandis, who is the shadow Attorney-General, in the public arena. I have asked them time and time again to indicate whether they support the funding for the hybrid car or oppose it. I think it is about time that we had an answer to that. If you do not want to provide that here, maybe you should go outside—or in parliament tomorrow—and get someone who can actually make a decision, and then indicate whether you support or oppose the funding and the development of a hybrid car in Australia.

For the benefit of members gathered here today, last year in Australia one million cars were sold. Do you know how many hybrid cars were sold? It was 5,000. So 995,000 cars were sold that were not hybrid cars. This is an investment in the production of hybrid cars here in Australia. We consider it is a good investment, not only for the automotive industry but as a contribution to combating climate change. Now, if the coalition is against that, let us know.

There was a series of questions about when various people were told about this funding and so on. The head of Toyota in Japan indicated publicly that this funding was crucial to the decision. The member for Dunkley might feel he knows more about the production of hybrid cars than the CEO of Toyota Japan. I would be interested if he thinks so, but I would think that the CEO of Toyota would be a pretty good authority both on the production of hybrid cars and also on the desirability and support of the funding that has been provided by the Rudd government. There is green car funding for this. This was a pre-election commitment. Yet again you have got an example of the Rudd government saying one thing before the election and doing exactly the same thing after the election. I know that confuses the coalition, but that is the reality. We keep our election commitments, and I do think it is about time that the coalition made it clear whether it supports this project or not.

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